Following in the footsteps of Louis C.K.’s impressive experiment with direct-to-customer video sales almost a year ago, Chill.com today performed the most recent in a series of pivots and launched a platform that lets anyone sell direct.

"This is great for people who are looking to break into the business," said Chill cofounder Brian Norgard in an interview with the Upstart Business Journal this afternoon. "As long as you have the skills, you don't need to ask permission anymore."

And indeed, for a 30 percent commission, the platform, called Chill Direct, looks like it has the potential to become a valuable tool for entertainment entrepreneurs just getting started who may not have access to some of the more expensive technological tools and distribution channels of big-name entertainers and their record labels—or for the next generation of Louis C.K.s looking to stick it to the man.

Almost exactly a year ago, the painfully honest comedian Louis C.K.—fed up with the fees and restrictions of digital rights management technologies (DRMs) employed by distribution companies—decided to cut the companies out of the loop. He wrote, starred, directed, and edited his comedy on his own, before distributing it to fans on his site for $5. He made $1 million in 12 days.

Since then, fellow comedian Aziz Ansari successfully followed C.K.’s lead on a similar, though more selective, platform called VHX.tv, according to GigaOM.

Today’s announcement that the Hollywood-based Chill would make available a DRM-free self-service platform is the most recent in a series of pivots for the company, which was founded in 2011. Aspiring entertainment entrepreneurs register to use the platform just minutes after coming to the site and can charge between $1.99 and $49.00 to distribute their videos to any desktop, mobile device, and Internet-connected television, according to a statement.

Michael del Castillo is the technology and innovation reporter at Upstart Business Journal, a member of American City Business Journals. A graduate of Columbia University, his work has appeared in the New Yorker. He is also the cofounder of Literary Manhattan, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Manhattan’s literary community and creating new ways to appreciate literature.

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